"The Elephant Man" (Baton Rouge)
January 25, 2010
Octavia McCoy White
January 28, 2010
The dust is beginning to clear from the wake left by a crumbling economy. Ford dealerships across the region are now prepping for what they hope is a better year to come.
With plenty of hits and misses in 2009, Ford ended the year on a high note with an 8.5 percent increase in sales in the Memphis region, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee.
Sales for the company were up 33 percent in December 2009, which helped shed the effects of economic difficulties in the first and second quarters. Ford’s market share also increased in the region by 2.1 points over the course of last year, according to a press release issued by the company.
While the auto giant seems to be ascending the money mountain, it still has yet to fully recover from earlier economic woes. Nationwide full-year sales were down 15 percent, totaling $1.62 million.
In January 2008, sales for the Memphis region totaled 4,259, while in January ’09, they slumped slightly to 3,551.
Albeit the blips, it looks like 2010 might be the magic year. National sales for the Ford Fusion were up 83 percent while the Escape saw a 75 percent gain in December ’09. The F-series topped the list again, selling 48,209 and earning a 16 percent increase.
“…The F-series has been the best-selling truck in America for 33 years in a row,” the release continued.
Following regional trends, Terrebonne Motors Ford in Houma also saw hefty gains in the latter part of 2009, which can be credited largely to high truck sales.
Motor vehicle registration records show that in October ’09 the company sold 51 vehicles; 43 were trucks. By December, Terrebonne Ford had pushed 80 trucks off their lot.
“We’re a working area. Between the fishing and shrimp industries, we have to have a vehicle that can work,” said Micky Bruce, general sales manager at Terrebonne Ford. “That’s the biggest reason why full-size trucks are the number one selling vehicle in Houma.”
Although sales figures aren’t to be taken as a tell-tell sign of future success, they’re becoming hard to ignore.
Given recent sales, Bruce said, “It seems like we’re going to have an improvement this year.
“Ford didn’t take any money from the federal bailouts … they stood on their own as a corporation,” he added. “That’s why you see the company’s numbers rising above other manufacturers.”
According to business manager Ben Ledet of Lirette Ford, in Morgan City they “saw a yearly increase in sales in 2009, compared with 2008” when the dealership was owned by Morgan City’s Courtesy Auto Group.
Numbers show a total of 10 vehicles sold in December ’08, a small step down from 12 sold in December ’09.
“We didn’t hit our goals, but we did see a year over year increase,” Ledet added. “Our sales aren’t what we anticipated, but we’re satisfied.”
For 2010, the manager expects sales to jump-start. “It might not get back to how it was in the good ol’ days, but sales will definitely pick up again.”
However, one local dealership, Robichaux Ford in Thibodaux, saw a slight decrease in sales during the latter part of 2009.
The dealership sold 32 vehicles in October ’08, 29 in November and 34 in December. In 2009, the Thibodaux group sold 25 vehicles in October, 20 in November and 25 in December.
“My sales are pretty much the same (from 2009 to 2008),” said Riley Robichaux, the dealership’s owner.
Jonathan Blanton (far right), Beth Giroir and James Armstrong, sales representatives at Terrebonne Ford in Houma, get ready for what could be a good year. Sales numbers in the area are on the upswing. * Photo by MICHAEL DAVIS
